Marcel Prins (1)

You may have heard of Anne Frank, the girl who went into hiding with her family during World War II because they were Jewish, a race of people the Nazis were treating cruelly and murdering. But did you know that Anne Frank was not the only child who spent time hidden away during WWII?

Each chapter of this book is a true story of stealing away in secret as a child in order to survive the war. The narratives are haunting: most of the authors were separated from their parents and siblings, some moved around to dozens of homes, others were abused by the families who hid them, and all found that the time they spent in hiding changed the courses of the rest of their lives, not always for the better.

These stories are riveting, but they are not easy to read. If you got through The Boy in the Striped Pajamas and are looking for similar fare, this is an excellent choice for you.

Grown-up portion of review:

Each of these chapters is told in first person; but because the author worked from interviews then retold the stories, they all have the same voice. It's concise, almost clinical, and simple to read. The lack of sentimentality and excess description made the book less appealing to me, but I think it actually creates a much more accessible volume for kids. Without blurring the truth of what happened during the Holocaust (or the cruel opportunism of some civilians during a time of war), Prins brings a matter-of-factness to a difficult subject, making it something plenty of kids (maybe 5th grade and up) can handle.… (mer)